Varying quench dynamics in the transverse Ising chain: the Kibble-Zurek, saturated, and pre-saturated regimes

Abstract

According to the Kibble-Zurek mechanism, there is a universal power-law relationship between the defect density and the quench rate during a slow linear quench through a critical point. It is generally accepted that a fast quench results in a deviation from the Kibble-Zurek scaling law and leads to the formation of a saturated plateau in the defect density. By adjusting the quench rate from slow to very fast limits, we observe the varying quench dynamics and identify a pre-saturated regime that lies between the saturated and Kibble-Zurek regimes. This significant result is elucidated through the adiabatic-impulse approximation first, then verified by a rigorous analysis on the transverse Ising chain as well. As we approach the turning point from the saturated to pre-saturated regimes, we notice a change in scaling laws and, with an increase in the initial transverse field, a shrinking of the saturated regime until it disappears. During another turning point from the Kibble-Zurek to pre-saturated regimes, we observe an attenuation of the dephasing effect and a change in the behavior of the kink-kink correlation function from a Gaussian decay to an exponential decay. Finally, the coherent many-body oscillation after quench exhibits different behaviors in the three regimes and shows a significant change of scaling behavior between the S and PS regimes.